


Can't Buy Me Love

by mixedmarquee



Category: Dear Evan Hansen - Pasek & Paul/Levenson
Genre: Developing Friendships, Fake Friendship, Implied/Referenced Self-Harm, M/M, Mental Health Issues, Recreational Drug Use, Slow Burn, Suicidal Thoughts
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-07-21
Updated: 2020-02-03
Packaged: 2020-07-09 22:14:58
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 10
Words: 9,232
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19895200
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mixedmarquee/pseuds/mixedmarquee
Summary: Of all the things Evan expected Connor to say to him, a proposal for a paid friendship wasn't one of them. Lord knows he wouldn't have expected it to become a real friendship either.





	1. Chapter One

_Dear Evan Hansen,_

_It turns out, this wasn’t an amazing day after all. This isn’t going to be an amazing week or an amazing year. Because why would it be?_

_Oh, I know. Because there’s Zoe, and all my hope is pinned on Zoe who I don’t even know and who doesn’t know me. But maybe if I did, maybe if I could just talk to her, then maybe… Maybe nothing would be different at all._

_I wish that everything was different. I wish that I was a part of something. I wish that anything I said mattered to anyone. I mean, face it. Would anybody even notice if I disappeared tomorrow?_

_Sincerely, your best and most dearest friend,_

_Me._

Evan let out an exasperated sigh as his letter began to print. The school’s printers were more or less ancient and took a long time to print. That was plenty of time for him to reflect on his day.

He’d gotten shoved to the ground by the school’s resident stoner for something he didn’t even _do,_ and miserably ruined a chance at a good conversation with Zoe Murphy. If those two events held any indication of how his senior year was going to go, it certainly didn’t seem like it was going to be easy. Because, again, why would it be? Things never worked out in Evan’s favor. He was used to it.

“So, what happened to your arm?”

Evan nearly jumped, being pulled out of his thoughts abruptly. Turning around to see that the voice had come from Connor Murphy didn’t make things any better, but he forced himself to reply regardless. 

“Oh, I, um… I fell out of a tree, actually,” Evan replied hesitantly, to which Connor chuckled dryly. He really didn’t even smile, which was… odd?

“You fell out of a tree? That is just the saddest fucking thing I’ve ever heard. Oh my god.”

Evan gave an awkward half-smile, forcing a laugh of his own. “I know.”

And then came the one comment that Evan was dreading. “No one’s signed your cast.” What was he supposed to say to that? _Yeah, I’ve got no friends and I’m too anxious to ask anybody to sign it._ He didn’t want that sort of pity.

“No, I know,” Evan mumbled absently, looking down for a second but immediately looking back up at Connor so as to not seem rude.

“I’ll sign it,” Connor proposed, to which Evan shook his head. He didn’t know why, but that thought made him feel a little guilty.

“Oh, um, you don’t have to.”

“Do you have a Sharpie?”

Despite Evan not exactly _wanting_ to, he reached into his pocket and pulled out a Sharpie, handing it to Connor and praying his sweaty palms would go unnoticed. 

The taller teen accepted the marker and grabbed Evan’s arm a bit too forcefully, causing the latter to let out a soft “Ow.” Connor looked up at Evan for a second with a deadpan expression before looking back down at the cast and beginning to sign.

Much to Evan’s dismay, Connor’s signature took up the entire side of his cast. It wasn’t like anyone else was going to sign it anyway, though.

“Oh, great. Thanks.” His own words sounded a little ruder than he’d intended, but Connor didn’t seem to care, so that was a relief.

“Now we can both pretend that we have friends,” Connor offered. Evan nodded, but that statement just sounded kind of sad. Two friendless seniors, sort of bonding over their loneliness, in a weird sort of not-actually-bonding way.

For a split second, though, Evan thought about Jared. He had Jared, right?

Except he didn’t. They weren’t friends, they were _family_ friends, and Jared wouldn’t let him forget that. Evan couldn’t blame him. He wouldn’t have wanted to be friends with anyone like himself either.

“Good point.” That was really all Evan managed to say as he took his marker back. He looked off to the side at a fixed point in the wall as he typically did when a conversation seemed over.

It wasn’t over, though. Connor stood there for a second before taking something from his pocket and shoving it into Evan’s hand pretty forcefully. 

A handful of money, which there was definitely no reason for. No reason that Evan could think of, at least. 

“Sort of playing off that whole ‘pretending to have friends’ thing? I’m paying you to pretend to be my friend for a while. Maybe a week?”

Connor looked at Evan like he was expecting something. Expecting a response, probably. An agreement. But Evan didn’t really know how to respond to that. Shockingly, nobody had paid him to pretend to be their friend before, so he was pretty taken aback by the whole proposal, especially after everything that happened earlier. He didn’t want to come off as rude, though, so he just sort of… smiled and nodded. Sans the smile.

“Yeah. A week. Okay,” Evan mumbled in response, not really stopping to _actually_ consider any part of that proposal. Maybe that was for the best, though, since Connor seemed happy enough with his reply. That was good. No confrontation, but a lot of questions still remained. _Why did Connor want to pretend to be friends with Evan? Why did he want to pay him for it?_ Stuff like that doesn’t really happen to anyone.

“Cool,” Connor replied absently, grabbing Evan’s marker once again and scrawling something else onto his cast before leaving the computer lab.

A ten-digit number right under Connor’s large signature.


	2. Chapter Two

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Connor reflects on his last first day of high school.

Connor tossed his bag across his room haphazardly. There was nothing important in that bag. Just a few school supplies he didn’t even figure he’d ever have to use. 

For the entire summer, he held himself to the idea that the first day of school was also going to end up being his  _ last  _ day of school. Connor thought it was a decent idea. Waiting until the first day to see if things miraculously did a 180. They  _ didn’t  _ do a 180, but it was an interesting day, to be sure.

As expected, the school day started off with the usual stuff. Being made fun of. Being silently judged, and being audibly judged by one Jared Kleinman. He never really liked that kid, for obvious reasons.

Later, though, that was when he got an idea. The idea to pay someone to pretend to be his friend. Someone to pretend to give a shit about him, because maybe if someone started “hanging out” with him, people would start to leave him alone. Maybe they’d see him differently. So he forced it on Evan Hansen. Evan, who definitely didn’t have any real friends of his own. See, there was actually something they had in common. Total fucking loneliness. A weird basis for a friendship, but the perfect basis for a  _ fake  _ friendship.

Connor wasn’t really surprised that Evan agreed to the whole thing. The kid seemed like kind of a pushover, though, so he probably would’ve agreed whether he wanted to or not. That wasn’t Connor’s problem, though. 

So, he had to stick around a while longer. Just to see how the whole fake friendship thing panned out. Well, he didn’t  _ have  _ to. But he was interested, since this was new. Different. Maybe people  _ would  _ actually end up treating Connor differently. Hell, maybe they’d treat Evan differently too. He didn’t know if anyone actually  _ judged  _ Evan, but people clearly didn’t notice him.

Either way, now that the school day was over, he had bigger things to worry about. Namely, avoiding family drama for as long as possible. Not fucking anything up for a week was harder than it sounded. 

Right as he thought that, someone knocked on his door. It had to be his mom since Larry had no regard for his privacy and Zoe would just burst in. She used to knock, actually. 

Connor didn’t respond to the knock. After a while, Cynthia always just started talking to him through the door. He liked to consider it some sort of ‘first day of school routine.’ Cynthia always asked him how his first days were, as if things would suddenly change and he’d have a great school year. That wasn’t going to happen, but sometimes he appreciated the sentiment. Most of the time it just annoyed him, but it was pretty much her job to ask him annoying shit at that point.

“Connor? How was your day?”

Every time he heard that question, it sounded more and more condescending. The question just sounded like it was mocking him. Like,  _ how was your twelfth first day? Just as bad as the other ones?  _

This time, though, he actually thought about the question. His day certainly could’ve gone worse, and he might have given himself something to look forward to. Things might’ve started off pretty bad, but they ended on a hopeful note.

“It was fine,” Connor muttered, and his mother’s relief was almost palpable. 

“Oh yeah? No horrible day this time?” Cynthia challenged playfully. The word Connor  _ actually  _ used was ‘shitty,’ but horrible worked just as well. 

“I guess not.” The conversation really should have ended when Connor had first replied, and his mom thankfully picked up on that. She said something about hoping the rest of his year was okay, but he really tuned most of it out. Again, he appreciated the sentiment, but nothing was going to change that drastically. For most of his life he really hoped it would, but now he was sort of indifferent. Why would he put in the effort of living out a full year if it probably wasn’t going anywhere? That would just be a lot of unnecessary stress. There was no point in that.

Maybe the fake friendship thing counted as trying to change things. It probably did, but he wasn’t going to admit that. Not to himself, and definitely not to anyone else.

Pretending to be friends with someone he knew next to nothing about for a week was a daunting thought, but Connor came up with the whole idea, so  _ he  _ was the one who had to follow through. Part of him sort of wished that Evan would just text him so they could discuss the whole thing. There was really no discussion about it earlier. They might end up needing ground rules, or maybe he was just overthinking things. 

Connor was most definitely going to be hung up on this all night, and he could only imagine how Evan felt. Probably not too bad in retrospect, since he was the one that got paid. He could back out and Connor probably wouldn’t even confront him about it. That was a reasonable thing to do, in his opinion.

This was a weird situation.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Second chapter! Yay! This one doesn't hold much real significance. I was really just trying to find a voice for this character that was the most comfortable to work with. This chapter also pulls a lot from my older fic that I mentioned in the last chapter's notes, but I'm really trying to stop with that from here on out.
> 
> Thanks for reading if you made it this far, and I encourage you to leave some feedback! I love comments more than I could ever express, and I am in love with everyone who's ever read this.
> 
> Sincerely, MM
> 
> (P.S., my notes for Chapter One are being extremely weird! I think I'll end up getting rid of those ones if I can. Anyway, still, watch Can't Buy Me Love.)


	3. Chapter Three

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Connor and Evan exchange some words. It's definitely progress.

So, Connor was most definitely hung up on the weird situation he put himself in. So much so that he didn’t get any sleep during the night. He was used to not getting to sleep very often since insomnia was a real bitch, but he was actually sort of looking forward to getting a little sleep. Maybe some other time.

Walking through the halls of a school he’d seen for way too long was more exhausting to him than any amount of sleep he had missed out on, but today he had something else to focus on. Pretending to be friends with hard-to-notice Evan Hansen. The thing was, though, Connor never found Evan that hard to notice. He might have been the only one, really. Maybe it was the fact that since they were both such outcasts. 

_ Outcast  _ felt like an understatement for himself, though. Connor felt like the scum of the earth seeing how people looked at him when he passed by them in the hallway. They looked at him like he didn’t belong there. Sometimes it felt like they thought he was less than human, but he figured he was just paranoid. If he really thought about that, it’d probably mess with his head a little too much. Not that he wasn’t already in a horrible mental state almost all the time. He wasn’t sure how much worse it could get and didn’t plan on sticking around long enough to find out.

Right as Connor had started to open up that can of worms, he spotted Evan putting something into his locker.  _ Right.  _ His “friend” for a week. At that point, Connor was eager to just escape everyone’s gaze. Well, maybe nobody was looking at him at all. He didn’t want to accidentally make eye contact with anybody to find out. Either way, nobody would pay attention to him if he was talking to somebody else. 

“Hey,” Connor muttered, leaning on the locker beside Evan’s, just kind of supporting himself on it. 

Evan looked up at him, looking a little confused for a second before seemingly remembering everything they talked about a day prior. Even then, he just awkwardly waved in response. Connor didn’t know jack shit about friendships obviously, but he knew this whole thing would need some… work. 

“So, we’re doing this, right?” Connor asked quietly. Nobody was going to overhear, and he didn’t think anyone was going to care if they did, but it would feel weird just asking normally. Either way, he had to know. Being reassured that he wasn’t wasting his time sounded nice.

Evan nodded, which was a real relief. “If you want to. I mean, if not, I could give you your money back. I could do that anyway, actually.”

This kid really second-guessed half the shit he said, didn’t he? It didn’t really annoy Connor, but it was really… telling. That habit really held some significance.

“Yeah, no. Keep it. You’re doing shit nobody else would even consider doing, so you deserve some compensation,” Connor joked. That joke probably didn’t land as well as he hoped, probably since it wasn’t delivered in a very funny way, but Evan cracked a small smile. It didn’t really count as approval, but it was something.

“We’ve got the same lunch period, right?”

“Yeah, we do. Why?” Evan asked almost hesitantly. The way Evan talked to Connor really made everything sound like a touchy subject. It seemed like he was really careful with his words.

“I’m gonna sit with you. Talk about stupid shit or something. Really build up this totally real friendship we’ve got going on here,” Connor replied sarcastically, to which Evan nodded again. He clearly didn’t have much to say, but Connor did. “Thanks, by the way. You didn’t have to agree to any of this crazy shit, and I appreciate that.” 

“It’s no problem. I’m not losing anything from doing it, and I’d probably do it anyway.” That was clearly meant to be a reassuring statement, but it kind of made Connor feel bad. He easily could have been forcing Evan into something, but he wouldn’t know. 

In an attempt to not hold the other boy up any longer, Connor mumbled some form of ‘thanks’ that was barely coherent and walked off.

* * *

Going to any classes didn’t really seem that necessary if he wasn’t going to be alive to finish up senior year, so Connor just sat outside getting high out of his fucking mind. It was something he did pretty often, and most people probably assumed that just by looking at him. He definitely didn’t look like a straight-laced student. When it came time for his lunch period to start, though, he actually headed inside the building and tried to spot Evan in the crowded mess of a cafeteria. There were always way too many kids there, which put Connor off. That was the thing with every school cafeteria. There were always so many people there, and Connor had skipped out on going to lunch for what pretty much amounted to his entire experience in school. A fuck ton of people in one small space just made Connor uncomfortable. It always made him feel like he was the center of attention, even though that couldn’t be further from the truth. It always felt like everyone was judging him. He’d been judged enough in his life to just assume that everyone did. Self-medicating… well, that was something that made him feel better, at least until all the effects of his pot wore off. Then he just felt worse than before. He always felt angry when a high wore off, and taking it out on whoever he felt like taking it out on was always a part of it. His family, himself… whoever. He didn’t really know how to manage that. 

Regardless of all that, he managed to spot Evan. He wasn’t exactly sitting alone, but the people sitting around him didn’t seem to notice his presence at all. He admired that, being able to live life unnoticed like that. It probably felt pretty shitty to go through that all the time like Evan did, though. He walked over to where Evan was sitting, taking the seat beside him. Evan looked sort of alarmed. Maybe even a little  _ scared.  _ Connor hoped Evan wasn’t scared of him. That would probably piss him off more than anything. It would probably mean that Evan only accepted because he was afraid. Maybe he was just reading too much into things. Being high as fuck kind of entailed that he didn’t have the clearest thoughts right now. Whatever. 

“What’s up?” Connor asked as nonchalantly as he possibly could. Starting a conversation so casually felt sort of unnatural. The only people he was really used to talking to in a school setting were his teachers about his shitty grades. He wasn’t dumb or anything. He actually thought he was kind of smart. Just really,  _ really  _ unmotivated. He figured there was no point in trying anymore in, like, middle school. He’d thought about killing himself for a really long time, huh?

“Oh, uh, nothing. Just kind of… decompressing. Just the thought of school is kind of stressful.” Evan shrugged a little. Connor totally understood that statement. Back when he actually gave a shit, he was super fucking stressed constantly. He was always put in those bullshit gifted classes until his grades started falling. It wasn’t fun. It made him feel stupid rather than gifted. More common ground between Evan and Connor. Unnecessary stress.

“Fuck school, dude,” Connor said, a little more heated than he’d meant to make it. At least he was passionate about something. Evan nodded, laughing a little under his breath. 

“Agreed. But I probably wouldn’t word it that strongly. And at least I can learn some stuff, right?” Evan sounded a lot more hopeful than Connor did. It was kind of refreshing to hear someone being so much more positive than he was. He was always inside his own head, just surrounded by negative thoughts constantly. He didn’t have little positive silver linings like that. 

For the rest of the lunch period, Connor and Evan had what the former assumed was some pretty natural conversation. They both learned a substantial amount of seemingly mundane stuff about each other, but it was actually pretty nice. It was a cool change of pace, having someone to actually talk to. It was sort of like having an actual friend, but he couldn’t let himself forget that this would only last for a week. With every passing moment, that week got closer to ending, and that was like a big looming threat. He still wasn’t exactly sober, so he was definitely just blowing things out of proportion, though. He wouldn’t have felt like there’d be a loss otherwise.

Something Connor had picked up on was the fact that nobody seemed to look at him weirdly in the cafeteria. Of course, he got glances, but he always did. There were no  _ judging  _ glances, though, and that made him feel a lot more normal than he had in a really long time. It still didn’t feel like he belonged, but it felt like one tiny step.

Maybe this wasn’t a terrible idea after all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ouch, I almost burnt myself out writing this many words. We do not want that. Progressing things is harder than I thought without making a gigantic chapter, and even now, I'm still not... doing much? I guess I'm still trying to flesh Connor out a little before getting back to what Evan thinks about all this weird stuff. We'll get there soon! They're bonding! Isn't that great?
> 
> Thanks for reading if you made it this far! Feedback is greatly appreciated, and that's really where a lot of my motivation comes from.
> 
> Sincerely, MM
> 
> (P.S., this amount of hits with so little content is super flattering! Again, thanks for reading. <3)


	4. Chapter Four

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Evan might have delivered his words wrong.

Evan didn’t really know what to expect from pretending to be Connor’s friend. He didn’t think he’d enjoy it, and he thought it was a pretty strange idea. Who wouldn’t? Connor was… well, he wasn’t  _ scary _ or anything. Something about him was just intimidating, but Evan would never actually tell him that. Maybe it was the way he carried himself. He was always hunched over in a sort of awkward looking way, and it seemed like he had a permanent glare on his face. It made him look like he was constantly troubled. He’d never even seen him smile. Connor didn’t seem like a very happy person, but he figured most people smiled once in a while. On top of that, he looked almost sickly. He constantly looked incredibly tired and weary, like he hadn’t gotten a night of good sleep in years. He was pale and thin. Maybe a little too pale. It looked like the type of complexion you’d probably see on a corpse. Well, Evan hadn’t seen a corpse before and didn’t really plan on it, but Connor constantly looked half-dead. The dark circles under his eyes only made his pale skin stand out more. He looked like what Evan imagined someone who died by exsanguination would look like, just with a little more life. 

It was day two of the fake friendship, and it was definitely going a lot smoother than Evan had expected. It wasn’t like he expected Connor to be some crazy madman or anything. He was obviously still human. Turns out, he was actually pretty easy to talk to once they got past all the awkwardness, and lunch the day before was a perfect example of that. After the awkward stage, things started to feel more and more natural. It was easier to fake a friendship than it sounded. So, they’d both agreed that lunch would be a regular thing for the week. He’d never really sat with anyone at lunch before, except sometimes Jared when he had nowhere else to sit. It sucked being a last resort, but he was so used to it that it didn’t even matter. Even Connor was sort of using him. For what, though? He was really curious about his motives. When Connor brought up the idea in the computer lab on Tuesday, it didn’t seem like a planned thing. It was like the idea just popped into his mind and he went along with it. It wasn’t a  _ bad  _ idea, though. It seemed like people were noticing Evan more. Maybe just because he was around Connor, but it was nice to be noticed. To be finally _ seen  _ just because he was around someone who was being seen all the time.

Today was no exception. Evan glanced around a few times during lunch out of habit, since he wasn’t exactly the best with casual conversation, and noticed a few passing glances in his direction. That felt  _ way _ nicer than it should have. He was pretty sure that nobody else in the world was as starved for any form of acknowledgment as he was. The fact that Connor came up to him and asked him to do this thing was nice too, even if he was probably being used. He really had to bring that up, since it was something he couldn’t seem to shake. There was no better time than a momentary lapse in conversation between the two of them.

“Hey, Connor, can I ask you something?”

Connor looked up at Evan, the same leering expression as always. He used to find that unnerving, but he got used to it pretty quickly. It probably wasn’t an intentional thing. He just seemed high-strung.

“Sure,” Connor mumbled. 

“I probably should have asked you this sooner, but… uh, why did you want to do this in the first place?” That question had come out a lot smoother in Evan’s head. There was a fatal flaw, regretting every word that came out of his mouth.

Connor narrowed his eyes a little.  _ That  _ one was an intentional glare. Evan knew that for sure. “Why do you care all of a sudden?”

Evan fumbled over his words for a second, not exactly being prepared to respond to that. “I don’t, I mean… I was just curious, you know?”

“Yeah, sure you were. You don’t wanna do this, do you?” Connor was way too defensive all of a sudden, and that was kind of worrying. Evan didn’t think he said anything  _ that  _ wrong, but maybe he was just that dense. The taller boy waited for a moment, definitely expecting Evan to have something to say. When he didn’t end up saying anything, Connor abruptly stood up and started to leave, muttering something under his breath. Nothing too nice. That’s for sure.

* * *

Evan had been on the verge of panicking for the rest of the school day. The thought of messing things up so fast was a little disappointing. That question was probably the straw that broke the camel’s back. In the moment he’d briefly thought that maybe Connor had been overreacting a little bit. Blowing things out of proportion. From what he’d seen, that seemed pretty easy for him to do. The irrational part of Evan’s brain, though, assumed he managed to ruin a friendship that wasn’t even real. 

He tried to focus on something else once he got home for the day. Anything else, actually. Nothing occupied him well enough, because his mind kept drifting to Connor. To how irritated he got. That marked some sort of breaking point, because it was when Evan decided to finally text Connor. It was well overdue anyway, but it seemed like the right thing to do. They had to talk things out eventually if the misunderstanding was going to be cleared up. 

**[E.H.]** _Hey. It’s Evan._

**[C.M.]** _what do you want._

**[E.H.]** _Can we talk? I wanted to apologize for earlier, too._

**[C.M.]** _yeah sure whatever but cn we talk in person?_

_ can* _

**[E.H.]** _I guess so. Should I share my location?_

**[C.M.]** _sure that’s fine._

Evan hoped meeting up would actually give him a chance to clear everything up with Connor, but from the way he was texting, maybe he was still a little heated about everything. Or maybe that was just how he texted all the time. He had no clue. If Connor brought up the idea of talking in person, he couldn’t have been  _ that  _ angry. Unless he just wanted to beat him up or something. 

He had no clue what he was getting himself into.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My writing companions for this chapter were a big dry bowl of Lucky Charms, a water bottle, and my StarKid playlist. Turns out my brain doesn't want to take things slowly anymore, but I'm gonna try! I'm super close to being burnt out but I'm trying to refresh my brain by decompressing and watching some funny YouTube men. I like doing these frequent updates, though!
> 
> Thanks for reading if you made it this far, and feel free to drop a comment! Feedback sustains my mind, body, and soul like no other.
> 
> Sincerely, MM
> 
> (P.S., the comments I've gotten have actually made me smile so much! My dopamine receptors have a little mini-party whenever I read one! I love you!)


	5. Chapter Five

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Connor apologizes.

Connor didn’t exactly expect to end up on Evan’s couch trying to talk things out with him like they were some married couple going through a rough patch, but that was  _ exactly  _ the situation he was in.

One thing Connor did expect was having to apologize to Evan rather than having it be the other way around. Evan hadn’t done anything to warrant him needing to apologize. Asking a harmless question that got misconstrued wasn’t a cause for an apology. Evan had already apologized enough in the past few days to last a lifetime, and they weren’t even going to be interacting with each other for that long if everything went according to the already agreed-upon plan.

“Listen, I obviously overreacted earlier and you know that. We don’t actually need to talk that much about it because I’m sorry. Unless you don’t give a fuck about my apology or whatever.” Connor glanced over to the other side of the couch where Evan was sitting. The two of them were pretty much as far apart as they could be on a relatively small couch, which was awkward, but it would be awkward either way. They weren’t exactly friends.

“You’re fine. Maybe I just shouldn't have asked.” Evan shrugged dismissively. He had a vaguely guilty expression, which Connor hated. He had nothing to feel guilty about. Not in this situation, at least.

“You had every right to ask, because this shit is weird. I think it’s weird too. You’re definitely not the only one,” Connor offered in a poor attempt at humor. He really lost his ‘funny’ touch since childhood. If he was ever  _ actually  _ funny. He wasn’t really sure anymore, but his family thought so. Back then.

Evan smiled, though, which was cool. In retrospect, it was probably out of pity, which was significantly  _ less  _ cool. But he could ignore that. 

“Yeah, it’s a little weird,” Evan admitted. That honesty was refreshing. 

Connor wished Evan was able to be less careful with his words around him. He wasn’t necessarily sensitive or anything, but he could definitely understand why things were the way they were. He didn’t exactly make that an easy task since he was so prone to blowing up. He’d tried to stop doing that before, but it obviously didn’t work out. Connor never  _ liked  _ lashing out on people, but that whole aspect of him had pretty much ingrained itself into his personality. That was his entire reputation. He was the kid who threw a printer. He was the kid who yelled at people. He was the worse of the Murphy siblings. He didn’t want to carry all of that around but he had no real choice. It really started weighing on him over the years and dragging his mental state down even further. Rock bottom probably wasn’t too far off if all of that continued. 

“Pretty fuckin’ weird. Does this mean you accept my stupid apology or should I pay you some more?”

“Well, uh, don’t do that?” Evan smiled a little awkwardly. “I definitely accept your apology.”

Connor nodded, leaning back a little. It felt like three years worth of tension had left his body. Not much from the million years of tension he acquired throughout his life, but it was noticeable. He liked the feeling. “Do you mind if I stay here for a while longer? Any time away from home is something I have no choice but to treasure with my entire fucking being,” he mumbled, pretty much already expecting an affirmative answer. Evan didn’t really deny things a lot, did he?   
  


Just as he thought, Evan nodded. “Yeah, sure! I mean, my mom won’t be home for a while, and there’s really no harm in that.” He was either being nice out of fear or just a genuinely nice person, and Connor chose to believe the latter. Having someone be even remotely nice to him was something he didn’t get very often, so he’d take what he could get.

Connor stayed quiet after that, and after a minute or so of that comfortable silence, Evan switched on the T.V. Comfortable background noise was just as good. He always liked hearing something in the background. White noise, television, whatever, really. Evan was either the same way or just didn’t like silence. Equally as understandable. He wasn’t going to judge his fake friend for something as trivial as that. There wasn’t much to judge him on, full stop.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter might not be the most coherent because it's eight in the morning and I haven't slept yet. Still, once I get into a groove of writing a chapter, I try not to stop, so that's what I've been doing since six! Anyways, I was gonna start this one sooner but I slept a few days away and didn't do much at all. That's summer for you! I hope this is decent filler for when I actually get into a good writing groove at a reasonable hour of the day.
> 
> Thanks for reading if you made it this far, and don't be afraid to leave feedback! I wanna hear some thoughts!
> 
> Sincerely, MM
> 
> (P.S., I love replying to all these comments I've been getting! Everyone's been super nice and I feel very... approved of. This has become my main source of approval and I'm in love with you all!)


	6. Chapter Six

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A casual talk and some inner thoughts.

There were rarely ever two people on Evan’s couch. It was rare to even have more than one person in the house, actually. His mom was almost always either working or taking classes. It was sort of sad, really. The two of them didn’t talk much, which especially sucked because they were family. Family members should interact more than that. Evan didn’t feel like he had the right to be upset over that, though. His mother worked really hard to provide for the two of them. He couldn’t really ask for more than that, but he still couldn’t help but wish he got to spend more time with her. She definitely got extra points for being the parent that stayed, and a great parent all around.

Needless to say, if having his mom around was a rarity, having someone else around was pretty much unheard of. Well, he used to have Jared around sometimes, but Jared started actually doing stuff other than hanging out with him. That was actually pretty understandable. Evan wasn’t necessarily cool, and probably wasn’t a blast to be around all the time. Jared sort of made that apparent. Nonverbally, but it was apparent. Connor didn’t give him that vibe, though. He didn’t get the feeling that he wasn’t worth being around, even though they weren’t friends. Connor was either really committed to the fake friendship, or he was a genuinely nice person. Evan really hoped for the latter, but that was obvious. The feeling of not being totally hated by someone you really don’t want to be hated by was always a good thing. 

The more they interacted with each other, the more Evan started to like Connor. He wasn’t anything like Evan had initially expected, and he definitely wasn’t anything like people made him out to be. He seemed like a genuinely good person at heart, which was definitely cool and something he hadn’t exactly expected. Connor seemed like someone he could actually be friends with, if the fake friendship never came up. Connor probably didn’t have the same attitude towards Evan, but he had no way to tell. He wasn’t going to ask, so there was no way he could possibly know. 

Evan glanced over to where Connor was sitting. He looked relaxed, which was good. Really good, actually. Their little act would be pretty hard to keep up if they were tense around each other. That would suck either way, since being tense sucked. Definitely one of the least fun feelings. 

“So, uh…” Evan started, definitely already regretting speaking. It already felt like there was no room to back out, so he committed. “Do you do anything? Like, hobbies or something?”

That was… a pathetic conversation starter that he probably got from the internet at some point. That was a thing he used to do. Look up ways to spark a decent conversation, probably hoping to end up talking to Zoe at some point. He never got to use them with her, because every time they did miraculously have the chance to talk, he royally screwed it up by fumbling over his words. Maybe it was fate that he screwed up things with her all the time. 

Connor didn’t seem to mind that Evan’s conversation starter was so basic, though. “I don’t think I have any real hobbies anymore. I lost interest in, like, half the shit I used to do,” he replied with a shrug. “Sometimes I reread books I used to like, if that counts.”

“That definitely counts. It’s a better thing to do than thinking about stuff that doesn’t matter constantly like your life depends on it.”

“No, I’m totally in the same boat with you there. It’s truly a curse. I wonder if that’s, like, a universal thing. It seems like something everyone can collectively agree on, you know?”

Evan nodded, cracking a small smile. “Yeah, I know. Let’s conduct a schoolwide survey.”

“A solid plan, but I know for a fact that neither of us would ever go through with that. Let’s be super fuckin’ realistic here.”

He chuckled a little at how blunt Connor’s response was. Connor was a pretty blunt person in general. Not even in a mean way. He was honest, and Evan actually admired that to a degree. He’d never be that person, but it was nice to dream. 

Talking to Connor was getting easier and easier. He was never hard to talk to, but Evan just wasn’t the best with social stuff. When they got into a decent conversation, it actually kind of felt like they were just friends who regularly had casual chats like that. This one was really no different, and it actually carried on for a while. Evan didn’t really register how long it had been until the front door opened, although it was actually earlier than usual.

Well, it turned out that he’d have to end up dragging his mother into this whole act. Either that, or disappoint her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow! It's been a while, hasn't it? I haven't forgotten about this fic, but I've definitely been stalling on writing. I think I'll be back into the groove soon. I started writing this chapter earlier today since I came back home and saw Can't Buy Me Love playing on the TV. I think that was definitely a sign that this was loooong overdue. Sorry about that! I'll hopefully move away from the filler next time around. Here's to next chapter!
> 
> Thanks for reading if you made it this far, and don't be afraid to leave feedback! I don't bite unless I have to.
> 
> Sincerely, MM
> 
> (P.S., on a super cool note, I'm seeing DEH at the Kennedy Center on September 7th! I mean, that's been established for months, but I've never mentioned it here, and the day grows closer every moment! I'm really excited.)


	7. Chapter Seven

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This lie isn't dying down any time soon.

Evan didn’t  _ want  _ to lie to his mom. It seemed like a pretty sucky thing to do, but when she asked about his “friend,” he saw how expectantly Connor looked at him. Under any other circumstances, he wouldn’t have gone along with it. He wasn’t sure what was so different about this time. Maybe this qualified as peer pressure.

“This is my friend Connor,” Evan replied, audibly hesitating on the word ‘friend.’ That was pretty telling, but his mom probably wouldn’t suspect anything. She was probably too full of joy that her socially-inept son actually made a real friend. He wished he had. She’d definitely be proud, and that was a little sad.

Heidi smiled, nodding in Connor’s direction. “Well, it’s very nice to meet you, Connor. I hope I didn’t bother you two. I’ll stay out of your way for the rest of the night, though.”

Evan liked how his mom didn’t pry after that. She treated it like any other day. Like this situation was completely normal. It  _ should’ve  _ been normal, really. Other kids probably brought friends home all the time. 

It was good that Connor didn’t seem to dislike Heidi. Not visibly, at least. Evan couldn’t really tell from Connor’s expression. His face was almost always devoid of any real emotion. Maybe if the guy smiled every once in a while… 

“Just don’t get too crazy. Save the partying for when the parent is out,” Heidi joked, prompting Evan to force out a light laugh. Definitely a laugh out of pity, but someone had to take the bait.

“The party waits for nobody,” Connor deadpanned, pulling a laugh from Heidi. Connor was actually pretty funny. That was something Evan admired. 

“Oh yeah?” Heidi replied, smiling widely. “Guess I’d better retire to my party-free room, then. You two have fun, okay?” Evan nodded, and Heidi carried on. “There’s money on the counter if you guys wanna order food.” 

If any food was getting ordered, Evan knew for a fact that he wasn’t going to be the one to do it. His mom knew that too. She got on him for it a lot. Not in a mean way, but in a sort of encouraging way. Of course, it didn’t actually help anything, but it was the thought that counted. What parent wouldn’t want their kid to be able to complete a relatively simple task? He figured that was a universal parent thing, wanting your kid to be normal.

“I was gonna bring that up,” Evan mumbled.

“Just mentioning it in case you forgot, Ev,” Heidi replied a little too nicely, before heading to her room. She had to be tired. She was always tired, really. That’s what happens when you work all the time. 

“Your mom seems nice,” Connor remarked, definitely truthfully.

“Yeah, she is pretty nice, huh?” That was something you don’t really consider a lot until you look at things from someone else’s perspective. “What about your parents?”

Connor narrowed his eyes a little. Not at Evan, though. Just… thinking, probably. “They’re okay, I guess.”

“Okay?” Evan questioned.

“My mom is consistently pretty decent, and my dad can be kind of a dick sometimes. I remember liking both of them a lot more when I was little.”

Evan couldn’t help but wonder if Zoe felt the same way about her and Connor’s parents. They seemed so different that it was hard to imagine that they had the same outlook on anything, really. If they did, it’d be a surprise. He’d ask, but it was a perfectly plausible idea that Connor didn’t want to talk about Zoe. Evan wanted to stay away from subjects like that. Managing to mess things up a second time was pretty on-brand for Evan, but avoiding it for as long as possible was a good goal to have. 

“Having to live with people I sometimes hate and sometimes can tolerate is pretty lame,” Connor muttered absentmindedly, to which Evan nodded. He could imagine having to live with that. He imagined he’d dislike his dad if he really knew him. He was okay with the fact that he didn’t, though. “I’m changing the subject now, though,” Connor announced. “Do you think we should order some food?”

“I’m not gonna object.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wowie! I didn't update as soon as I hoped to. Sorry about that, but I hope I'll get back on track soon! School starts up for me soon and I haven't started my summer work yet, so maybe the next chapter won't come quicker, but I'm definitely gonna try. 
> 
> Thanks for reading if you made it this far, and please feel free to leave feedback! I love hearing from you all.
> 
> Sincerely, MM.
> 
> (P.S., I bought a ticket for my second Broadway show a few days ago! The Longacre isn't ready for me. I'm gonna cry in there!)


	8. Chapter Eight

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> An agreed-upon proposal.

You really lose sight of how fast a week can go by when you really don’t want it to end, and Connor learned that the hard way.

The week of pretending to be friends with Evan was… well, more or less over.

The thing was, though, the more Connor reflected on the events of the past week, the more he realized that having an actual friend sounded nice. Having  _ Evan  _ as a friend? Even better thought. In his head, he assumed it was a one-sided thing, and he figured his brain was just desperate to connect with someone after not having anyone to connect with for most of his life. His stupid fucking monkey brain had definitely gotten the better of him, though. He didn’t mind the fake friendship ending, but he wanted a real one to start. 

Who was he kidding, though?

Kids like Evan did  _ not  _ become friends with kids like  _ Connor.  _ They were probably more opposites than anything else, even though Connor didn’t have the most fleshed-out read on Evan’s personality. That “opposites attract” stuff was bullshit in a lot of cases.

Connor didn’t entirely believe that Evan secretly hated him, but the possibility still felt pretty real. It was something he assumed about most people. The only real exceptions were the people who outwardly hated him. Not very hard to miss. 

Looking at Evan, though, he just couldn’t help but wish things had played out differently. That he had asked to be actual friends from the very beginning of this mess. 

The two of them had spent so much time together over the week that Connor almost had time to trick himself into believing that none of it was fake. That Evan hadn’t been  _ paid  _ to pretend to be his friend. It was a nice idea, but a week wasn’t quite enough time to fully immerse himself in that illusion. 

Letting the whole fake friendship end would probably mark the continuation of Connor’s whole “not having friends” problem, and he didn’t want to go back to that. He felt like he  _ couldn’t  _ go back to that after experiencing how good things could be. So he cooked up something that was almost a full plan in his head. Hopefully it would suffice. 

* * *

After the past week, sitting with Connor at lunch had almost been a reflex, so Evan didn’t think much of it when his brain decided to put him there on autopilot even after their little deal had ended. 

Connor greeted Evan with a wave, to which he smiled.

The two of them began to say something at the same time, Evan’s “What’s up?” overlapping with Connor’s “Can I ask you something?”.

Evan was predictably the first to back off. “Sorry. Go ahead.”

Connor rolled his eyes, but Evan could tell that it wasn’t mean spirited. “Yeah, okay. Stop me if you’re totally not down with any of this, though.”

Evan nodded.

“I want you to actually be my friend. No bullshit. Like, I don’t want this to be a transaction because you’re genuinely fun to hang out with. I mean, I could totally still pay you every week if you need that little extra push to hang out with a psycho, but still.”

That sort of shocked Evan. He was the type to assume nobody wanted to be friends with him because he was too boring, too vanilla. Too much of a loser, maybe. A little bit of all three. This, though, was like an unforeseen gift from some god that he didn’t entirely believe in. Someone in the world  _ genuinely  _ wanted to be his friend. That made him smile.

“I get that it’s a stupid idea. Sorry,” Connor mumbled, immediately backtracking. 

“No! It’s… really not a stupid idea,” Evan replied quickly. “I definitely want to be friends with you, and I do  _ not  _ want you to pay me for it.”

“You’re not down with friendship prostitution?” Connor joked. His timing was surprisingly good, and it definitely gave Evan a good chuckle.

“Not really, no, but I do enjoy that wording.”

From there, it felt natural. Like the two of them had agreed to be real friends from the beginning, and that was nice. The way they could just move on from the initial question without lingering on it. 

It’d be a nice change adjusting to having a real friend for once.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We're back, baby! And by we, I mean me. I hope everyone stuck around for this not-so-great teeny-tiny baby chapter. Still, though, I'm ready to get back into the groove of writing this fic, and I hope y'all will stick around for some of the more entertaining stuff I've got kicking inside my little goblin brain.
> 
> Thanks for reading if you made it this far, and please leave a comment if you've got the time! I adore seeing comments and they really make my day. I love y'all!
> 
> Sincerely, MM
> 
> (P.S., I'm totally seeing my second and third Broadway shows this coming Saturday. Here's to that! I'm extremely excited to head back up to NYC.)


	9. Chapter Nine

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A developing friendship in full swing.

Going from a total social outcast to somebody with an honest to god friend was probably the best change Connor had ever experienced. Of course, said friend was  _ also  _ a total social outcast, but that really just gave the two of them more to bond over. 

Having somebody to talk to about things improved Connor’s outlook a little. Obviously, he had his shitty days. Everybody had their shitty days, of course, but mental illness just makes that sort of thing worse. Raises it to the tenth fucking power. The frequency of those days just happened to go down by a sliver. It was really a wonder what a small but good support system could do. 

Connor realized that  _ not  _ having to pay somebody to hang out with you felt really fucking great. Having somebody want to hang out with you out of their own volition was great. It made him feel like he was genuinely worth hanging out with. 

He would’ve never expected anyone to actually want to be his friend, and it was still hard to believe. There were times that Connor doubted Evan’s intentions, but the rational part of his mind dismissed them. Evan was outwardly a really nice person, as far as he could tell. Overthinking that was stupid. Really fucking stupid.

Connor looked forward to talking to Evan every day. Even small talk was nice. Before the fake friendship, he never had anything like that. Now that it was genuine, it meant a lot more. Sticking around past the first day of school had its benefits, apparently.

Oh, and Connor didn’t want to die as intensely. By no means was he miraculously cured, though, since that’s unfortunately not how mental illness works, but things were better, even if only by a little bit.

He still had days where he really thought about dying. There was no getting around that, but the rational part of his brain always pulled through. He appreciated that. Those days were inevitable. He hated them, but still kept them to himself as best as he could.

* * *

During the second full week of Evan being friends with Connor, he decided to give back the money from when the fake friendship started. It was more a cheesy symbolic thing than anything, but he also felt a little guilty having that money. It didn’t feel right to begin with, and it felt even worse now. So he gave it back. Connor apparently found it funny, which Evan only picked up because Connor told him, but he still liked the gesture. Well, Evan hoped he did. Maybe he didn’t. Maybe it was stupid. 

Connor was a really good friend, despite what Evan probably would’ve thought just a few months ago. Connor was the type of person that people tended to avoid like the plague just because of the way he seemed. That didn’t really seem right, but Evan couldn’t deny that he used to be one of those people. But he found that he really, genuinely enjoyed Connor’s company and actually took it upon himself to plan out times for the two of them to just hang out together.

It was nothing like his relationship with Jared. That was something else entirely. Something Evan didn’t really want to call a friendship, and something he apparently wasn’t  _ allowed  _ to call a friendship. Not that he really disliked Jared. He sort of wanted to be friends with him, but that probably wasn’t what Jared wanted, so he decided years ago to not push it.

With Connor, though, there was a mutual agreement that it was a real friendship. There was no denying it, even from an outside perspective. 

Alana actually approached him about the whole thing. 

“What you’re doing for Connor, that’s really nice,” she said, smiling brightly. Alana always found a way to be really chipper, and Evan had no idea how she did it.

“What do you mean?” Evan replied, genuinely kind of confused.

“Being friends with him, of course. I mean, I always felt really bad that he didn’t have any friends. None that I knew about, at least. We’re pretty close acquaintances, but that isn’t really the same. I’m glad you’re his friend now!”

Evan nodded slowly. “Right. I’m, uh… not really doing it  _ for  _ him, though. We’re just friends. It’s kind of a mutual thing, you know?”

Alana looked puzzled for a moment, knitting her brow before smiling and nodding. “Oh, yeah, I totally get it. It’s still a really nice thing to do, right?”

Evan shrugged, looking away briefly.

“I think you and Connor could both really benefit from having each other on your teams, actually. Everyone needs some lifting up at some point! I think you two are great friends,” she continued. 

Evan hadn’t really thought of it like that, but Alana really did have a point. Supporting each other in a friendship was really beneficial, especially considering neither of them was used to that kind of unconditional support.

That was a new perspective he was ready and willing to explore. Especially considering a mildly concerning text he received from Connor a couple of days later.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I did it! I'm back and ready to get into writing. I think the only way to fully immerse myself for this next chapter is to leave you all with a teeny tiny cliffhanger. Sorry about that one! Hopefully, there won't be such a gigantic gap between chapters next time. Here's to that! 
> 
> Thanks for reading if you made it this far, and I really appreciate comments! They really keep me going and help the spark of the fic stay alive! They also just make me really, really happy! <3
> 
> Sincerely, MM
> 
> (P.S., I'm heading back up to NYC on March 1st! I hope the city isn't tired of me yet!)


	10. Chapter Ten

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A heart-to-heart ensues.

Connor didn’t come to school. That, in itself, shouldn’t have been worrying. Except Connor didn’t come to school for  _ days _ . If this were anyone else, Evan would have assumed that they were just sick. Busy. Out of town, even. But this wasn’t anybody else. This was Connor, the unpredictable one.

Evan truly,  _ desperately  _ wanted to give Connor the benefit of the doubt, but after texting him a few times throughout those days, varying instances of ‘are you doing okay’ and forced small talk, the concern came back in full force, a dark pit in his stomach that only grew deeper and deeper with every passing second.

Connor hadn’t responded to a single message. He read some of them, but the last handful were left delivered. Again, if this were anyone else… he wouldn’t care. Connor always responded, though. Quickly. Promptly. At any hour, usually. 

If Connor had done something risky, or considered doing something risky… god forbid he already did, Evan didn’t really know where he would go from there. So the pit in his stomach remained unchanged. Festering, burning, searing. Until Friday, around the time when classes let out for the day.

**[C.M.]** im not doing okay.

With all the feelings that flooded through Evan’s brain as he read the text, it felt like he’d undergone the five stages of grief in an instant. In reality, though, it was more just new forms of worry. So, rather than making his way home at the bell, Evan ventured the extra handfuls of blocks to Connor’s house. 

Much to Evan’s chagrin, the door was ever-so-slightly ajar. The implications of that were… really horrifying, and he couldn’t keep from wringing his hands thinking of all the things that could have happened. It didn’t really seem like anybody was home. The lights were off. Evan let himself in. That was probably,  _ absolutely _ a crime, but he really could  _ not  _ force himself to care this time. 

Evan had been over a couple times, so he knew where he was headed. Upstairs. He reached the end of the hall, briefly knocking before wringing his hands. Again. He really didn’t wanna panic, but the way things were going, it seemed kind of inevitable. The vaguely painful feeling of his heart hammering in his chest became apparent in the silence, before everything was drowned out by a single, quiet word.

“What.”

It might have been intended to be a question, but Connor’s ‘question’ came out sounding more like a demand. His voice was hoarse, tired, and extremely raw all at once. Evan had never heard him sound like that, but hearing him at  _ all  _ seemed like a godsend at that point.

“It’s me,” Evan replied, his voice predictably shaky.

A few seconds later, Connor opened the door, and the sight kind of caught Evan by surprise.

Connor really looked terrible. His eyes were dull, red, and puffy, like he had been crying. Or like he was high. Or maybe both. The dark circles shadowing them were a million times more prominent than usual, so that would probably add sleep deprivation into the mix. He looked sad, emotionless, and angry all at once, if that was even possible.

As Evan was taking this in, he was pulled into Connor’s room, and the taller boy just sort of… looked at him, before pulling him into a tight hug. It was actually pretty shocking, but Evan figured that Connor needed it. Sometimes you need some form of contact to ground you. Evan understood that. 

Connor pulled back after a few seconds, looking at Evan sadly. That kind of hurt, seeing his friend look so defeated. He seemed like he was doing better before. 

“You didn’t do anything stupid, did you?” Evan asked, a little bluntly. He was just worried. Worried beyond belief, really.

Connor shook his head, looking off to the side. He wasn’t looking at anything specific. He was just… zoned out. “No.”

Evan thought for a moment. He was relieved, for sure, but Connor definitely wasn’t all there. He was distant in a way that Evan hadn’t ever seen.

“Are you thinking about doing something stupid?”

Connor slumped down a little, sitting on his bed. “I mean, not anymore. I was.”

Evan nodded. “Can we talk, then?”

Connor shrugged in response, prompting Evan to sit beside him. “What’s on your mind?”

“None of this feels right.”

Evan didn’t really know how to respond, so he just stayed quiet, hoping the other teen would elaborate.

“I have someone to hang out with now. Things should be different. I shouldn’t still feel like shit every single day. I get that it’s not some magical fucking cure-all, obviously, but it’s not like it doesn’t mean anything. I mean, outwardly, things are great, but I feel like I should… feel  _ differently. _ ”

Connor sounded genuinely frustrated, and that was really hard to listen to. Evan spoke up after a few seconds of silence. “I think that relying so much on this one friendship is… well, it can’t be the best option. Have you talked to your parents about… about therapy, or something?”

He nodded, bleary-eyed. “Every time I bring it up, they act like I’m faking everything, or like it’s no big deal. I think after a certain point they just started ignoring the shit I said.”

Evan sighed. “I think you really need to keep sitting them down and bringing this up. Let them know how bad this gets. I know you could really benefit from some medications or… just some professional insight, you know?”

Connor nodded, absently clenching his shaking fists. “Yeah.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A slightly faster update! I would have posted this sooner, but sometimes my keyboard likes to not let me use my most important letters. Hopefully we can get another chapter done soon! Within the month, maybe? No promises, but here's hoping!
> 
> Thanks for reading if you made it this far, and I encourage you to leave a comment! Your comments make my world go round, loves! <3
> 
> Sincerely, MM
> 
> (P.S., 1000+ hits? You guys are crazy. I love you all! Thank you so much for putting up with my wack upload "schedule.")


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